In this episode of DW’s Berlin Briefing, host Michaela Küfner challenges her guests to unpack Putin’s hybrid war and assess how Germany should respond. Former NATO analyst Michael Rühle and Carnegie Europe senior fellow Judy Dempsey clash over their different takes on whether Merkel was right on Ukraine and Russia.

Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur speaks to DW’s Nina Haase about Europe’s security challenges, Russia’s war in Ukraine, why European defense spending needs a major boost, and about the impact of Germany's political vacuum on defense commitments. Pevkur also shares his blunt views on Olaf Scholz’s phone call with Vladimir Putin, and why direct talks with Russia may not be the answer.

Germany is gearing up for a snap election in early 2025. The conservative CDU/CSU is leading in the polls. What's at stake for German politics and trans-Atlantic relations with the US? In this episode, hosts Nina Haase and Michaela Küfner sit down with Thomas Silberhorn, a senior member of Bundestag for the CSU, to talk through how to prepare for Trump 2.0 in domestically turbulent times.

Host Nina Haase talks to DW's Washington Bureau Chief Ines Pohl and James D. Bindenagel from the German Marshall Fund about what Donald Trump's victory means for European security, support for Ukraine, the future of transatlantic relations — and how the collapse of the German government coalition affects all this.